Thoughts of a Common Man

We finally made it. The Yanks open at home against the Blue Jays. I swear, it's an eternity from the moment of the last Yankee game of the previous year to the moment of the first game of the new year. I've always loved baseball. Couldn't play it so well because I was like Napolean Dynamite, asking the ump to have the pitcher slow it down - they threw too fast and I was too afraid. Also, I judged a fly ball pretty poorly. I did have some success at an early age, playing fairly well in Little League and getting a treasure chest of memories from those days. I can name the starting lineup from those teams. Yet my baseball connections are all family-related. My entire family is made up of Yankee fans. There isn't a dissenter in the group and I cherish the memory of their clinching win in the '96 series because we were all together and slapping high fives when Girardi hit a triple. I get a different feeling on opening day too. There's the promise of a bright new seas...

I suppose it's funny how a writer's mind works. I left the house this morning to get the newspaper. Quickly, a number of thoughts jumped into my head. First, I cursed the cold and the snow left on the ground. Secondly, I thought about global warming. Where the hell is it? Thirdly, Al Gore popped into my head as I considered what we are doing to the environment, and how it would make our grandchildren suffer. Finally, I thought about Sheryl Crowe who explained that in order to help save the environment we should use just three squares of toilet paper when we are done doing our business. All because I left the house to get the paper. Let's handle them one at a time. Yes, it's cold. It's Buffalo. We cry about our national image and do all sorts of things to let people in other cities know that this is a terrific place to live, but you don't have to be a polar bear to understand that it's freaking cold! And it snows! And 43-year-old men get sick of having to pu...

As I was graduating college one of the big songs out was by Roger Daltrey of the Who - it was called "After the Fire...the Fire Still Burns." My group of friends used the song as a rallying cry because we wanted to stay in touch, keep our unbelievable connections intact, and burn on together as friends. (Yes, we were drunk when we sang it). In any regard I heard a guy speaking about fire the other day. He said we should all be candles. When we pass our flame to another candle, we don't lose anything in the translation. Not sure I want to be a candle, but it got me thinking. I have left hundreds of friends by the side of the road. It isn't my fault, and I certainly would remain friends with most of those people if situations had dictated, but time and responsibilities do get in the way. My current circle of friends includes two dogs, three young boys, my wife, a couple of drinking buddies, my brothers and sisters, a few friends from high school, two or three college bu...

I may mangle it, but I remember reading an Aristotle quote that said something like this: "We are what we do repeatedly; therefore excellence is a habit and not an act." Whatever the exact quote, it is something to live up to. I believe that doing things over and over, on-time and in line with expectations is what makes you successful - whether it be in a job, a relationship, or on a golf course. I know a great doctor who once told me that success will follow you if you work hard. (He's chronicled in House of Miracles). Yet why am I spouting off like Plato today? I suppose it is because I normally walk around with a checklist in my head. I told my wife that each day is an exercise in doing things I don't want to do, so I can get home and do some of the things I do want to do. Not that I hate my job - quite the opposite really. Not that I hate writing - I love it actually! Yet life sometimes gets lost in the mundane. We repeat certain tasks over and over and when we ar...

I bought Sirius Radio to listen to my boy Howard Stern - which I do on a regular basis. Lately, I've caught up with Jay Thomas who used to be Carla's hockey playing husband on Cheers. Both shows are semi-sophmoric by nature, but quality entertainment. Yet today Jay Thomas had an author on who had the pleasure of interviewing George Bush for a new book called Dead Certain. It was an interesting interview because the author explained what makes "W" tick. Some of the interesting facts learned: --- Bush isn't stupid. Yet he enjoys playing the regular guy who looks as if he stumbled into the presidency. --- Bush reads - he even "Read some Shakespeares" as he said. --- Bush is stubborn. He knows he's right and doesn't care for the people who thinks he's wrong. --- Bush is certainly in charge. He is not just a stooge for Cheney and Rove. He lets all around him know who makes the decisions. I certainly found the interview interesting and might even r...

Okay, so I have a couple of friends who's health are breaking down. I had a little conversation with myself the other day, saying that I would work on dropping a few pounds before I suffer from a breakdown. I'm lucky, I've been healthy. My heart is good, sugar levels are good, cholesterol is excellent. I sleep well and eat real well. Problem - I may eat too well. Keep the jokes to yourself. Anyway, I decided that I would try and eat sensible. I swear to God in my adult life I've treated dinner like a feeding frenzy. I eat so quickly that I get dizzy at times. My gameplan over the past week has been to eat like a human being. 3 meals - all sensible - no frenzied activity. Lots of water and nothing in between. I do a lot of walking, climbing and moving around during work - so I figure that eventually the pounds will drop off - and I'll feel better all the way around. One problem --- I'm freaking hungry. The hungrier I am, the meaner I am. The meaner I am, the more...

I absolutely hate reading the count of the dead soldiers in the Iraq war. Today's headlines screamed that we had hit the 4,000 mark. As I read the words, I wondered about how I missed the mark on accepting such loss of human life. I heard a celebrity remark that sacrifice is necessary to make this the country that it is. The celebrity remarked that great sacrifices were made by men and women during World War II and that anyone shouting out against the war in Iraq is truly unpatriotic and should move elsewhere. How did I get to be so simple? I am not unpatriotic. I am simply trying to understand. The case made for going to war evaded me. I am too simple to understand the ramifications of leaving now. If I were to state a case on why we should leave (so we don't lose more soldiers) I am thought to be a coward. Do we continue to lose our young people now even though the reasons why we went have been proven to be false? I don't know. Perhaps I am just naive, simple, and confuse...